The school trustees voted in Feburary to give Superintendent Tim
Baird the authority to sue, but school and city officials have
continued to try to reach an agreement.

Last month, City Manager Gus Vina approached the district and
asked to try again. Baird and Vina met twice, but those talks were
fruitless, they said.

"There doesn't seem to be any traction from our conversations
with the city," Baird said.

The school district and city have squabbled for the last couple
of years over whether the 2.8-acre site in downtown Encinitas
should be rezoned residential to match surrounding properties.

The site is zoned for public or semi-public uses ---- such as
medical offices, an assisted living facility or a cemetery ---- but
not homes.

The school district plans to ask developers to submit proposals
for the site that would fit in with its current zoning, Baird
said.

The City Council has twice voted against rezoning and turned
down an offer from the district last year to sell the property for
$10 million.

The district closed Pacific View Elementary School in 2003
because of low enrollment and started using it for storage.

Initially, the district proposed allowing a developer to build
office and residential spaces on the site. The plan was dropped
after it faced strong opposition from nearby residents.

If the land was rezoned, the property could be traded for
commercial office space elsewhere that school officials have said
could bring the district $400,000 a year to add to its annual
budget of nearly $50 million.

School officials have said they want to get as much money as
possible for the property so they can use it to benefit students in
the district.